Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Noor Bank, one of the leading Shari’ah-compliant banks in the UAE, has entered a strategic partnership with National Bonds Corporation, a renowned investment company, to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative in the UAE that allows customers to purchase Shari’ah-compliant investment products using credit cards.

Starting Aug.15, 2019, the new scheme enables Noor Bank credit card holders to invest in National Bonds without paying extra charges, provided they keep the certificate for over six months.

Mufazzal Kajiji, Head of Retail Banking at Noor Bank, and Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds, signed the agreement at National Bonds headquarters in Dubai.

Customers can access a host of benefits including up to 51 days of profit-free grace period on purchases. They can increase their chances of scoring financial rewards, as the scheme allows customers to double their entry into prize draws worth over Dhs36 million per year.

New cardholders can buy bonds using their Noor Bank credit card, while existing customers can simply make the purchase through telebanking.

Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds, said: “We are confident that our strategic agreement with Noor Bank will complement our vision of cultivating a healthy and sustainable savings culture in the UAE.” “As part of this priority, our association with a reliable and customer- centric partner such as Noor Bank will certainly strengthen our ultimate goal to make saving a convenient experience for all. We look forward to sharing our unique savings products with Noor’s discerning customers to inspire them into becoming financially informed and more empowered.”

“Credit cards are often associated with overspending, but with the new partnership, customers who are keen to grow their money can now use their credit card to their advantage by using it to purchase savings bonds instead of making impulse buys at the store,” he added.

Speaking on the partnership, Mufazzal Kajiji, Head of Retail Banking at Noor Bank, said: “For the first time ever, we have enabled customers to buy National Bonds using Shari’ah-compliant credit cards. This one-of-a-kind strategic partnership aligns with the bank’s commitment to delivering best-in-class Islamic banking products and services while prioritising convenience and easy access.”

For his part, Girish Advani, Head of Assets - Retail Banking at Noor Bank, said: “At Noor Bank, innovation is at the heart of everything we do, and we continue to explore customer-centric solutions that are built on the core values of Islamic banking.

The partnership with National Bonds offers enhanced convenience through simplifying transactions and eliminating the need for physical visits.

Features such as the double entry into the Dhs36million draw as well as our flexible payment plan makes Noor Bank credit cards more unique and exclusive than ever before.”

Noor Bank began operations, in Dubai, in 2008, as an Islamic financial institution. It is a full-service bank delivering the broadest range of products for its customers, with an emphasis on unique and personalised service.

Noor Bank is governed by the Internal Shari’ah Supervision Committee, with extensive experience and expertise in Islamic legal, financial and banking matters. Noor Bank is rated “A-” IDR with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings.

Noor Bank has announced a record net profit of Dhs410 million in H1, 2019, notching up a 29 per cent increase over the first six months of last year and an 11 per cent increase on the 2017 full-year net profit.

Noor Bank’s revenue rose by seven per cent in H1 2019, with contributions from income via net financing and investments as well as non-funded income, generated through diversified performance across business lines in accordance with 2019 growth plans. Stringent expense management restricted cost growth to two per cent, improving the cost-to-income ratio to 33.5 per cent.

Noor Bank achieved a 16.1 per cent annualised return on shareholders’ equity. Reinforcing the Bank’s overall growth, total assets were up by four per cent, while customer financing increased by five per cent, and customer deposits rose by 11 per cent over H1, 2018.

The Bank’s balance sheet remained robust with improving asset quality, and strong liquidity and capital ratios. The impaired financing ratio improved to 4.3 per cent, with cost of risk reducing to 1.9 per cent. The capital adequacy ratio reached 17.2 per cent, and the common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 11.5 per cent, a 1.1 per cent improvement over H1 2018.

John Iossifidis, CEO of Noor Bank, said: “We attribute our record results in H1 2019 to our robust balance sheet and solid performance across our businesses. Our disciplined cost management and lower impairment charges have significantly contributed to the surge in net profit with an improved cost-to-income ratio. The stable impaired financing ratio and high provision coverage are a testament to the enhanced quality of our financing book.”